Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is M&S Food Our Best Ever Fishcake ultra-processed?

350g Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of M&S Food Our Best Ever Fishcake

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 45 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Salmon 19% (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Haddock 15% (Haddock 14.7%, Salt Colour (Curcumin), Paprika Extract), Cod 12%, Rapeseed Oil, Potatoes, Mature Cheddar Cheese, Shallots, Potato Flakes, Wheat Starch, Durum Wheat Semolina, Gherkins (Gherkins, Water, Vinegar, Sugar Salt), Capers (Capers, Water, Vinegar, Salt), Lemon Juice, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Parsley, Chives, Yeast, Garlic Purée, Sugar, Lemon Zest, Dill, Sea Salt, Dried Onions, Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika Extract

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Salmon (19%), Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Smoked Haddock (15%) (Haddock (98%) - Salt Colour: Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Cod (12%), Rapeseed Oil, Potatoes, Mature Cheddar Cheese, Shallots, Potato Flakes, Wheat Starch, Durum Wheat Semolina, Gherkins (Gherkins, Water, Vinegar, Sugar Salt) Capers (Capers, Water, Vinegar, Salt) Lemon Juice, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Parsley, Chives, Yeast, Garlic Purée, Sugar, Lemon Zest, Dill, Sea Salt, Dried Onions, Yeast Extract, Ground Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika Extract.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
4 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29033539, last edited 27 March 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.